Workout of the Day

Everything That's Wrong With Juice

I like juice, and juice can be a fine dietary choice at times, but the very notion of juice points to the exact reason that obesity and un-health has reached epidemic levels.

Juice is supposed to be easy to consume and taste good. That’s kind of the whole point. No one decided it would be a good idea to blend, squeeze, concentrate, and otherwise extract liquid from fruits or vegetables because it changed the foods’ nutritional makeup for the better or because it would diminish sugar consumption. Take a look at any juice label and it will boast how many fruits and vegetables are contained inside the convenient, delicious, (and fructose-packed) 12 ounce bottle. There will be claims of heart health, meeting USDA daily fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations, and ease of consumption.

Juice exists because we all know we’re supposed to eat fruits and vegetables and otherwise take care of and flourish in our bodies, but people can’t be bothered to endure something that’s less than enjoyable or that takes any effort beyond grabbing something from the fridge. It’s the same reason that fitness gimmicks are a multi-billion-dollar industry and cheap gym memberships sell like hotcakes and go unused for decades. We cling desperately to the idea that we can outsmart the system.

Look, broccoli sprouts don’t taste good, and that’s perfectly okay. There’s absolutely no reason they have to or should taste good, and the fact that you don’t get momentary mouth-pleasure from them is not an adequate reason not to eat them. We need look no further than what happens to the human system when you constantly feed it dopamine to understand why a steady stream of momentary pleasure is not the right way to go.

If you want a tasty treat, by all means, go for a juice. But let’s stop deluding ourselves into thinking that we can cheat our way through to health and wellness.